Ashes 2017-18: Hard to rank this series, says James Anderson

England lost te series 4-0.

The duo has been below par this season. (Getty)

England's  misery is finally over now that Australia has bagged the Ashes in their favor. For James Andersson who addressed the media post the final day's play had to face a barrage of questions the answer to which was just one in a nutshell. "It is hard to know where to rank this series", this comment by Anderson echoed in every answer that he gave as the journos started shooting their questions. 

 Anderson thought it had "been closer than 4-0" but lamented England's inability to make their good moments count. "We've been on top at some stage in all the games," he added. "We've just not capitalized on the key moments where if we kicked on, we put them under more pressure. They've played those pressurized situations better than us. When they've done that and put pressure back on us, we've not coped very well."

"It's a bit of an individual thing as well as a team thing,".Getting to 60 or 70 with the bat is not good enough - you've got to go on as a lot of their players have done. Similarly, with the ball, it's all very well bowling well for 15 to 20 overs but 20 to 35 overs can be the key overs for a bowler as an individual and that's when you've got to try and stay at your best. I don't think we've done that" was Anderson's answer when questioned on personal performances in the series. 

"You can do all the preparation you want. We've worked tirelessly in the nets. We've planned meticulously but you can't prepare for being out in the middle when the pressure is on. The only thing that can prepare you for that is being in it and we've not dealt with those pressure situations. That's been the difference in this series. I don't think the preparation and the planning could have been any better. It's just the way we performed on the field" justified Anderson on their preparations for the series. 

"I think we have improved in the last 18 months," Anderson said. "We've made strides in the right direction but it doesn't feel like a series where it should be a big upheaval [of coaches or players]. We've actually played some good cricket, we've not been blown away, every game has gone into the fifth day. Obviously, we are hurting and we know we have got to improve in a lot of areas" said Anderson on their graph of improvement over the last year and a half. However, this series loss will again pose the questions upon Englan's competitiveness outside home in future, having survived a series loss against India as well.

Anderson finally kept a word on his captain Joe Root to conclude the media session." "It's not an easy place to come especially when you're the wrong end of the results," said Anderson. "The way he's carried himself is a real credit. He's been fantastic the whole way through, he's not looked down at any stage. He's led the guys brilliantly both on and off the field. He should be very proud of what he's done on this trip."

Anderson hopes that he would stick around till the next  Ashes in England in 2019. 

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 08 Jan, 2018

    Share Via